Happy Thanksgiving

So being here in Ireland I feel like I've grown up...a lot. Not like I feel like an actual adult or anything crazy but I definitely feel like a better person now than I was a few months ago. I am truly thankful for every day I've been given and all that I have. Especially for the people in my life. Even though I'm not celebrating Thanksgiving with my family like usual, I've still been thinking about everything that I'm thankful for more than I think I ever have. Here's a few...

1. Nana
You always hear people say that if they could be half the person someone else is their life would be good. Well I can only hope that I can be a quarter of the person she is. I have seriously never met a more amazing person. She is the most caring, loving, kind and compassionate person I have ever met. Words cannot even describe how much I love her and how thankful I am for her being my Nana. I can't wait to squeeze the living daylights out of her when I see her pretty face waiting for me at arrivals :)

2. Mom, Dad, Aimee

Whenever I need help making a decision or a little extra money to visit a friend they're always there with advice on how to make it happen. Aimis is always there when I need to have a skype date with my baby or just a chat. I've also realized that she's a lot better housemate than some other people I've been living with :)
3. Auntie Nancy, Uncle Craig, Kelly, Michelle

There's nothing like skyping Uncle Craig hysterical cause I miss home and him and Auntie Nancy making me feel all better within minutes. Kelly is always there for a chat, and Michelle is always there to remind me that homework is more important even if I'm on another continent :) 4. Jazzy, Judy, Ginger, Fluffy
You never realize how much you miss cuddling something warm and fluffy until you have to go without it for a few months. There's nothing like unconditional love from an animal.
5. Moose, Samson, Kayla
Always there to make me laugh, or tell me how it really is.
6. Living in Ireland
I still can't believe I'm lucky enough to consider this beautiful place home

7. The ability to travel as much as I have
London, England; Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Venice, Italy; Klagenfurt, Austria; and soon to be Wroclaw, Poland; and Berlin, Germany
8. Hot Showers
One that is consistently hot and one that doesn’t require me to remember to flip a switch.
9. A warm room- above 40 degrees fahrenheit
I don't think I will ever complain about how hot my room is at home EVER again
10. Anything less than 7 rainy days a week
I've gone through 2 umbrellas, and have learned that clear blue skies don't necessarily mean that it's not going to rain
11. Skype
I can't imagine how much harder being away from home would be if I couldn't see everyone while I talked to them.
12. A car
Makes things such as grocery shopping and just getting from one place to another SO much easier
13. Stores open on Sundays and later than 6pm during the week
Never really thought about how lucky we are to have longer store hours. It always seems more convenient to go to a store on a Sunday or later in the day.
14. University finals in the States
I will never complain ever again about how hard a final is or how much I have to study at home.
15. Good friends
Both the few from home who've tried to stay in touch even though I'm here, or the one's I've made in Ireland.
16. Life itself and being as happy as I am

Visiting :)

So I finally got to visit Alina. She's my German friend who studied in America our Junior year of high school. She's going to college in Austria. Her friend Ina who I met when they came to RI for a little bit during their leap year also went to visit the same weekend so it was one big reunion. Flying into Klagenfurt airport I was practicly peeing my pants. There were a few mountains sticking up above the clouds at cruising altitude, then when we started decending they were every which way I looked. The pilot headed straight for one of the mountains before doing a u-turn and landing very quickly. It was so nice to see Alina and Ina's smiling faces outside the door waiting for me. We then went over to the car rental place and met their 2 guy friend who were picking up the car for our trip to Venice. After getting the car we went back to Alina's apartment for a little bit and picked up all the snacks and everyone's bags and set out to Venice.

The first part of highway was mostly tunnels since we had to travel through all the mountains in the area. I even saw snow on the ground! Unfortunately it was incredibly foggy and getting dark so I couldn't fully take in all the scenery that I'm sure was there. They made weinerschnitzel so I tried it. It was on a sandwich and I liked it. Not my favorite, but I wouldn't say I'd never eat it again. After a few hours we got to Venice and found out it's basically an island. We had to take a boat to our hotel. We made our way to the boat and sat outside in the front. Not only was it freezing, but so foggy you couldn't see anything farther than maybe 10ft. We got to our hotel which was a very nice suite with 2 bedrooms and a living area and relaxed for a bit before going out to get dinner. We walked around a little bit and saw that famous bridge, but it was dark and kind of late so we didn't see much else.

The next morning we got up, checked out of our hotel and walked around the city. I never realized how pretty it was. Luckily it was a nice day out. It is so cool how everything has to be accessed by boat. Even the ambulances! We ate lunch at this awesome pizza place. I got mine with black olives, assuming they would be pitted and sliced. I was wrong. I had to unpit all of the olives, and slice them. But it was sooo good. We just wandered around the rest of the day and then made our way back to Klagenfurt.

Once in Klagenfurt Alina and Ina made pasta for dinner and all of us ate together. We decided to stay in and just squeezed in Alina's bed and watched the hangover. I go out so much in Ireland it was really nice to just stay in and relax with them. The next day we got up and went into the city. It was decorated for Christmas, and I got some sweets at a candy stand. Everything looked so good but I settled for some caramelized nuts and picked up a little treat for my friend Kara back in Ireland. It was then time for me to go back to the airport to start my journey home. The plane ride back up was just as crazy as the plane ride down. We turned onto the runway towards the side that was ran out, did a u-turn at the end and had to take the entire runway to take off. We went up so fast I was dizzy and felt all weird. Even when we got up the mountains were so close to the plane even though we were thousands and thousands of feet up in the air. I was a little less scared this time around and instead took the window seat so I could enjoy the views I knew I would get.

I wish that I had more time to spend with Alina and Ina but hopefully they will come visit me while I'm in South Africa :)